Monday, 16 September 2013

Autumn is here...

Well summer left quite rapidly didn’t it? Last Monday we awoke to rain and cold, the temperature hasn’t really recovered since, and the mornings and evenings are getting darker by the day. We can get a few nice days still in September (actually it’s often quite nice) but even if it is clear and dry the temperature is considerably lower.

I actually quite like this time of year (although not as much as summer!) because being cold is still a novelty and it’s not too cold – just enough to need a jacket and to close the windows, not cold enough for central heating just yet! Things like getting snuggled in a blanket in the evening, putting on thick warm socks, cooking Sunday roast dinner (I never do this in summer) and getting out the winter coats seem new and cosy, I’m usually bored of it by November though!

The question is, do you change your décor for the seasons?

I know soon enough it will be Christmas decorations, but do we make any other changes to account for the change in the weather? Our only allowance seems to be that we get the blankets out on the sofa more, they’re always there just through summer are usually folded up on the arm or down the side of the sofa, and we have them out more once it gets colder. I’d like to get some nicer ones one day, with a nice pattern or a bit bigger or thicker. However with the cats they often just end up covered in hair (Minty loves to get under them with us for some reason!) and being used to cover the sofa cushions.

We also have less flowers and plants around, so the monthly flower posts might drop off (I’ve already not done one for August and September as I’ve not had any!) and the garden will go into hibernation (I’ll do an update on our outside preparations for winter soon).

We naturally spend a lot more time indoors over the winter, so it seems an ideal time to start thinking about projects and home related things. I want to get my home organised this autumn/winter, starting with the big declutter then moving on to rearranging some rooms once we are free of some of the rubbish cluttering them up. I think we have spaces, like the hallway, which we could use better, and we have a lot of things we do not need cluttering up other areas.

We are also going to be busy this winter sorting wedding stuff and squirreling away money, so I’ll be saving up and trying to maybe get some extra income (you may have noticed ads have arrived at TenantChic). This also means there might be more posts on the wedding blog, although that is really just a sideline so I’m not making any promises. Projects will also be very low budget for the near future!

The main thing I do to prepare for winter is I’ll rotate my wardrobe and my hair/beauty products soon, probably once we’re back from our holiday (which is coming up, yay!), to move the colder weather stuff to the front and put my summer stuff in storage or move it to the back. Although I try to not have too much season/occasion specific stuff some is unavoidable. I try to have dresses I can wear in the summer but also in winter with tights and maybe a top underneath, and also things I can dress up or down.

I’m also really into clothes swapping at the moment, after my wardrobe cull back here I’m sending off anything that didn’t sell on eBay to this website. It’s a great idea for saving money and also being more eco friendly. They’re quite strict on what you send in and it is all approved before sending so you don’t get the usual tat on there (Primark T-shirts that cost about £2 originally and have been worn, what’s the point? Just give it to charity!), it’s all as new stuff. I got a Next dress with the tags still on from here a while ago and had a large delivery last week of holiday stuff like a few sun dresses and shorts. I’m sending in more stuff regularly (you have to pay to post it in of course so I’m kind of sending it in dribs and drabs when I can get to the post office and have a few quid spare) and then when I want new clothes I shop on there with my credits rather than spending money. It helps keep my clothes to a minimum and makes me refresh my wardrobe more often as it makes me to get rid of one thing to get another. I do still shop outside of there though! For example they didn’t really have any sandals I liked or any maxi skirts which were the 2 specific things I wanted for holiday so I bought those from ASOS in the sale.

All in all not much change other than trying to maximise our space still and reorganising which seems to be an endless task!

How do you get ready for the colder weather? Do you have any winter décor that you bring out once it gets colder? Or does your home stay pretty much the same?p.s. I'm taking part in this - head over to see a round up of some good projects!